A dark chocolate truffle
Lemon and poppy seed flavoured white chocolate
Flavouring chocolate is much easier than most people realise. By adding herbs, spices and cooking essential oils to melted chocolate, you can make exotic combinations in minutes. The most popular flavour in our chocolate workshops is white chocolate with lemon and poppy seed. It’s our take on a classic breakfast muffin and tastes absolutely delicious.
Rich dark chocolate truffles
There are hundreds of ways to make truffles but as with most things, the simplest is often the best. By combining three tablespoons of double cream and six tablespoons of melted dark chocolate, you’ll make a rich chocolate ganache which can be piped into approximately 30 bite-sized truffles. This is a really hands-on recipe and a highlight during workshops as everyone is able to work with raw ingredients to create tantalising truffles.
Chocolate Martinis
Even more delicious than a chocolate Martini is drinking a chocolate Martini from a glass filled with solid chocolate. This is a great party trick and simple enough for everyone in a workshop to have a go. Take an empty martini glass and rotate the glass by its stem. As the glass turns, drizzle a fine stream of melted milk chocolate into the glass from a tablespoon. Once the chocolate has started to set, pour in your Martini.
Gianduja
Gianduja is an irresistible combination of caramelised hazelnuts and milk chocolate. Some would describe it as an Italian delicacy. We say it’s pretty much Nutella for grown-ups! This nutty chocolate is delicious on its own but even more mouth-watering when you can cut it into shapes, coat it with melted chocolate and add oodles of decorations.
Tempering
Tempering is all too often overlooked but it can make or break how your chocolates turn out. To make fabulous chocolates with a shiny finish, the melted chocolate needs to be cooled down in a process called tempering. In our chocolate workshops we run a tempering competition. Each group is armed with bowls of melted chocolate and chocolate buttons. The buttons are added to the melted chocolate and furiously stirred until they melt which reduces the temperature of the chocolate. The team that tempers its chocolate first is awarded with plenty of sweet goodies.
Hannah Saxton is CEO of MyChocolate, which provides chocolate making workshops and corporate events for any special occasion.
